This invention relates to improvements to business systems with which a customer can be in direct electronic communication with a vendor, e.g., via a system such as the Internet global communications system. In certain aspects, this invention relates to such systems that also provide guaranteed pricing for a predetermined time period so that a consumer is assured that an item purchased will not be sold in the near future at a discount or sale price which is not made available to the consumer. The U.S. application Ser. No. 09/375,934 entitled “Business System” naming Sunil Thakur and Zulfiqar Momin as inventors filed on Aug. 17, 1999 is incorporated fully herein for all purposes including its discussion of Related Art.
There has long been a need, recognized by the present inventor, for a system that provides to a consumer the assurance that the consumer will not buy an item or service and then find out in the near future that the item or service was made available at a much lower price. There has long been a need for such a system usable with Internet business systems and network systems.
The present invention, in certain aspects, provides a system that, in certain aspects, includes any of the systems and/or methods disclosed in the previously-mentioned “Business System” patent application Ser. No. 09/375,934—additionally with the following: a method in which a vendor who sells a business or service to a consumer maintains a record of the sale and monitors that item (or service) for a preset time period (e.g., but not limited to, for a week, a month, three months, six months, or a year). In certain aspects, the consumer is automatically given a refund, a credit, and/or a coupon or certificate good for use equal to the difference in sales prices and/or including value for the new incentive. Alternatively, the vendor may make available a refund, etc. of lesser or of more value than the price difference. Alternatively, a host system or any centralized system as disclosed in the “Business System” patent application (or in any prior art system cited therein) may record the sale, monitor the vendor and the product (or service) for the preset time period, and handle the making available of the refund, etc. to the consumer. The subsequent price or prices to be compared to an initial first sales price can be limited to subsequent retain prices or it may include subsequent on-sale and/or discounted prices.
In other embodiments, the vendor (and/or host system or other system) monitors all vendors of such an item; monitors all vendors of such an item in a pertinent geographic area as defined in the “Business System” patent application; and/or monitors all providers of the item as identified by the manufacturer thereof. In certain aspects, the consumer is alerted to the fact that a refund is available or that a refund has been made by phone, by fax; and/or by email. In one embodiment, a consumer using a host system or similar system is automatically notified of such a refund, etc. upon logging on to the host system, e.g., but not limited to by a blinking icon or message such as “You've Got Refund$.” In one aspect, when a consumer has an account with the vendor (or an account with the host system or similar system), the account is automatically credited with the refund amount. Such a blinking icon and/or message may also be used with the methods of the “Business System” patent application to alert a consumer to: a retirement account contribution (e.g. but not limited to “You've Got IRA$”; “You've Got Retirement $”; or simply “Retirement $”); an available coupon (e.g. but not limited to “You've Got Coupons”; “You've Got Coupon $”; or simply “Coupons” or “Coupon $”); future rewards or future “bucks” (e.g. but not limited to “You've Got Future rewards;” “You've Got Futurereward$”; “You've Got Futurebucks;” “You've Got Futurebuck$”; “Futurerewards”; “Futurereward$”; “Futurebucks”; “Futurebuck$”; “You've Got Discounts”; “You've Got Discount$”; “Discounts” or “Discount$”.
In certain embodiments a price guaranteeing system according to the present invention can also monitor the vendor's competitors (in one aspect, in real time) and guarantee to a consumer that if any competitor offers a lower price (and/or new incentive), the consumer will get the benefit of the competitor's lower price. The consumer can be provided at the vendor's location any better price available then at any competitor for the same item (or service). In one aspect such a method includes making available presenting to the consumer any coupon, rebate, incentive etc. offered by a competitor. Such “incentive matching” can be limited, in certain embodiments, to a pertinent geographic area.
Any method and system according to the present invention may also be in communication with and part of any airline's frequent flyer mile program so that sales and refunds, etc. qualify for miles. To alert a consumer that miles have been earned related to a transaction, a blinking icon or message as described above may be used, e.g., but not limited to “Miles”; “You've Got Miles”; and “Mile$”.
In one aspect a host system or similar system (e.g. but not limited to as in the “Business System” patent application and any prior art system disclosed therein) maintains a listing of vendor's that subscribe to and use the host system (or other system). When a consumer is afforded a refund, etc. based on a competitor's offerings, the host system can contact the competitor informing it that the competitor's offering was used as a refund basis and making available to the competitor a subscription for the host system.
In another aspect, whenever a consumer uses the host system or other system for any inquiry and/or transaction, the host system can contact any non-subscribing vendor that offers such a product or service and alert them to the fact that a sale was missed, then offer the non-subscribing vendor a subscription or sign-up agreement.
In other embodiments any system and method described herein may include the following (or any Internet system may use the following): when a consumer makes a purchase via the system, warranty information and/or warranty sign-up processing may be made available to the consumer by phone, by fax, by email, and/or via an interactive Internet site. A blinking icon or message as discussed above may be used to alert a consumer regarding warranties, e.g., but not limited to “Warranty !”; Warranties”; “Warranty$”; “You've Got Warranty”; or “You've Got Warranty$”. The consumer can, via an interactive Internet site (e.g. of the host system, the vendor, other systems, and/or the manufacturer) provide the sales and product information to activate the warranty. Similarly, by phone, fax, email, and/or interactive Internet site, a consumer can be alerted to possible warranty extensions and/or renewals and can apply for them.
Any system according to the present invention can include displaying privately an individual's refund (e.g. visually or audially) and/or publicly (e.g. on a publicly viewable sign or screen), in one aspect with a real time running total of refunds provided).